Purple Leaf Sand Cherry vs White Fringe Tree - TreeTime.ca

Purple Leaf Sand Cherry vs White Fringe Tree

Chionanthus virginicus

Prunus x cistena

NOT AVAILABLE THIS SEASON - MIGHT RETURN

CUSTOM GROW

White Fringe Tree
Purple Leaf Sand Cherry

White Fringe Tree is known for its fringe-like white flowers. It can either grow as a small tree or a large multistemmed shrub. The White Fringe Tree has separate male and female plants. Both male and female flowers have white fringe-like petals, but the male flowers are longer and showier. The female flowers give way to clusters of dark blue to black berries. These berries are not edible for humans but attract birds and other wildlife.

The White Fringe Tree is tolerant of clay soils, saline soils, and air pollution but does not do well in prolonged dry conditions.

Purple Leaf Sand Cherry provides bright reddish-purple leaves that turn bronze-green in the fall. In the spring, tiny flowers with a pinkish white hue bloom. The flowers are small, but the impact comes from the shrub blossoming all at once.

The Purple leaf sand cherry can be susceptible to pests and diseases in more humid areas; a typical life span is approximately 15 years. Not suitable for a privacy hedge on its own but is often alternated with lilacs. Often used as an accent plant that attracts birds and bees.

White Fringe Tree Quick Facts

Purple Leaf Sand Cherry Quick Facts

Zone: 3a
Zone: 3a
Height: 5 m (15 ft)
Height: 1.8 m (6 ft)
Spread: 5 m (15 ft)
Spread: 1.8 m (6 ft)
Light: partial shade, full sun
Light: any
Moisture: normal, wet
Moisture: dry, normal
Growth rate: slow
Growth rate: medium
Life span: medium
Life span: short
Suckering: medium
Suckering: low


Toxicity: the leaves and seed are slightly toxic
Foliage: purple leaves
Fall colour: dark red
Bark: dark red to purple
Flowers: fragrant, white clusters
Flowers: pinkish
Fruit: dark red fruit
Berries: blue to black
Hybrid: no
Hybrid: no
Catkins: no
Catkins: no


Other Names: american fringe tree, american fringetree, fringe tree, fringetree, north american fringe tree, white fringetree
Other Names: purpleleaf sandcherry